HIGHLIGHTS AND SITUATION SUMMARY
This issue covers the period of April to June 2013, with updates on the impact of floods and landslides in July. April to June is typi-cally a winter crop harvesting period, or a post winter crop harvesting period, depending upon the geographical area.
The Nepal Food Security Monitoring System (NeKSAP) District Food Security Networks (DFSNs) classified 11 Village Develop-ment Committees (VDCs) in Dailekh and Darchula districts as Phase 3 highly food insecure (or crisis). In Dailekh the primary reasons for the high level of food insecurity include the loss of roughly 80 percent of the main winter crop (wheat) as a result of hailstorms and a decrease in income from the sale of agricultural products by 40-60 percent, while in Darchula, flooding led to the current situation. Overall, an estimated 37,130 people are affected. Reported coping strategies include selling of livestock and assets and skipping meals; out-migration has increased by 20-40 percent in Dailekh. Furthermore, DFSNs in 12 districts have classified 147 VDCs as Phase 2 moderately food insecure (or stressed) in this period.
The rest of Nepal has had a seasonal improvement in the food security situation, largely due to the recent harvest of the winter cereal crops (wheat and barley). The number of VDCs experiencing varying levels of food insecurity have fallen to 158 from 209 in the January-March 2013 period. Some parts of the country are likely to experience a deterioration in the food security situa-tion during July-August, but this should improve with the start of the maize and paddy harvest (September-October).
The Ministry of Agricultural Development, WFP and FAO joint crop assessment 2012/13 estimated the production of main winter crops, wheat and barley, at 1.9 million mt and 37,000 mt, respectively, an increase of two percent and six percent respectively over 2011/12. However, the estimated national crop production was 8.74 million mt, a decrease of 7.6 percent compared to last year. Overall, there was a net positive national cereal balance for human consumption, with a surplus of 408.4 thousand mt. Nevertheless, 33 districts, mostly in the Mid- and Far-Western Hill and Mountain regions, are food deficit.
According to the NeKSAP household survey, 25.3 percent of the population had inadequate food consumption during the latest cycle, a slight deterioration since the previous cycle but a significant improvement compared to the same period last year. The highest proportion of households with inadequate food consumption (33.6 percent) was in the mountain districts. The average household food stock was 341 kg. With current food stock levels households can meet their food needs for roughly 3.9 months.
The largest share of household income was reported from the following sources: daily wages (29 percent), crop sales (19 per-cent), remittances (14 percent), and private enterprise (13 percent). According to Nepal Rastra Bank remittance inflow during 2012/13 was 434.58 billion NPR, an increase of 20.9 percent compared to the same period last year.